201405211322PR_NEWS_USPR_____CL3287620140521T132200-0400prnewswire.com20140521CL328761urn:newsml:prnewswire.com:20140521:CL32876:120140521T132200-040020140521T132200-0400MimeType/@FormalNameDelta, Virgin Atlantic Unveil New Schedule Between London Heathrow and Atlanta and Los AngelesAirlines to transfer Atlanta and Los Angeles flights, expanding options for customers between Heathrow and both citiesATLANTA and LONDON, May 21, 2014Delta-London-Atlanta201405211322PR_NEWS_USPR_____CL32876.xmlDelta, Virgin Atlantic Unveil New Schedule Between London Heathrow and Atlanta and Los Angeles

Delta, Virgin Atlantic Unveil New Schedule Between London Heathrow and Atlanta and Los Angeles

Airlines to transfer Atlanta and Los Angeles flights, expanding options for customers between Heathrow and both cities

PR Newswire

ATLANTA and LONDON, May 21, 2014

ATLANTA and LONDON, May 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and Virgin Atlantic Airways will transfer operations for nonstop flights connecting London-Heathrow to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport this winter, offering more choices for the airlines' customers on key routes across the Atlantic.

Effective Oct. 26, 2014, Delta will begin operating one of two daily Heathrow-Los Angeles flights currently operated by Virgin Atlantic. This new Delta service will mark the airline's first nonstop flight between Los Angeles and London Heathrow and is Delta's seventh nonstop destination between London and the United States. Virgin Atlantic will begin operating one of Delta's three daily flights between Heathrow and Atlanta. The new services will expand the award-winning service offered by both carriers to customers as well as provide greater choice for travel between the U.K. and North America. The two airlines will codeshare on each other's operated services, allowing Delta and Virgin customers seamless access to the expanded network.

"It's great to see how our partnership with Delta is already proving fruitful to our customers," said Craig Kreeger, Virgin Atlantic CEO. "In less than a year we will have co-located key business routes, delivered schedule changes to benefit our customers and provided enhanced experiences to our frequent fliers, who gain from reciprocal lounge access and the ability to earn and burn across both carriers. This is just the beginning of demonstrating how a true joint venture between airlines should be operated to benefit customers."

This announcement also shows how the partnership, which launched on Jan. 1, 2014, is increasing the network of each carrier. Virgin Atlantic will have access to Delta's Atlanta hub, the busiest airport in the world, for the first time, providing expansive and unprecedented access for Virgin Atlantic customers to connect to points throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. The airline will now be able to offer more than 100 additional international and domestic connections to its customers. This brings the total number of connections available through the partnership to more than 200.

"From the outset we said that our partnership with Virgin Atlantic was about improving services while offering more destinations and schedule choice," said Delta President Ed Bastian. "Expanding access to London's Heathrow Airport has long been at the top of Delta's list of priorities, while Virgin Atlantic has long wanted greater access to North America. Today's announcement shows how we're delivering this shared commitment to increase connectivity on the trans-Atlantic."

Delta and Virgin Atlantic's new winter 2014 schedule between Heathrow and Los Angeles and Atlanta is available today:

Virgin Atlantic's LHR-ATL service will operate on the following schedule:

Flight

Departs

Arrives

Aircraft Type

VS103

London Heathrow (LHR) 0925

Atlanta (ATL)1420

A330-300

VS104

Atlanta (ATL) 1730

London Heathrow 0635 (+1 day)

A330-300

Delta's LHR-LAX flights will operate as follows:

Flight

Departs

Arrives

Aircraft Type

DL035

London Heathrow (LHR) 1500

Los Angeles (LAX) 2031

B767-300 ER

DL034

Los Angeles (LAX) 2121

London Heathrow (LHR) 1525 (+1 day)

B767-300 ER

Combined, the two airlines operate a total of 32 peak daily nonstop flights between North America and the U.K., including 24 flights between London Heathrow and popular U.S. destinations. Delta recently co-located its New York, Boston and Seattle routes into Terminal 3 – Virgin Atlantic's home at Heathrow Airport. This move provided additional choice and flexibility to customers while reducing onward transit times.

Virgin Atlantic will continue to operate two daily services to Los Angeles and Delta will continue to fly three daily services to Atlanta, until Oct. 26, 2014.

Virgin Atlantic was founded by entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson 30 years ago after he decided the UK aviation industry needed shaking up and having some style injected back into it. On 22nd June 1984, Virgin Atlantic's inaugural flight to Newark took place, on an aircraft filled with personal friends, celebrities and the media.

Today, Virgin Atlantic flies to 33 destinations worldwide, including locations across North America, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Far East.

In the winter of 2012, Virgin Atlantic announced a joint venture with Delta Air Lines, creating an expanded trans-Atlantic route network and enhancing competition between the UK and North America. The two airlines now codeshare across 108 routes, offering passengers seamless connections to 66 destinations.

Virgin Atlantic has pioneered a range of innovations setting new standards of service, which its competitors have subsequently sought to follow. Recently it redesigned its Upper Class cabin, which included a new seat and a futuristic bar, which is the longest in the sky. Additionally, its entire leisure fleet of aircraft recently competed a £50 million renovation and includes a newly designed more comfortable seat and a brand new touch screen in-flight entertainment system, offering over 300 hours of the latest films, television shows, music and games.

Virgin Atlantic has enjoyed huge popularity, winning top business, consumer and trade awards from around the world. The airline has been awarded a Smart Technologies Award from The Wearables 2014 for its innovative trial of Google Glass and Sony Smart Watches in its Upper Class Wing. Other awards include best long-haul airline and best airport lounge at the Telegraph Ultra Travel Awards and Europe's leading airline lounge for the Heathrow Clubhouse at The World Travel Awards. The airline was recently placed 8th in the UK Coolest Brands League and last year was named Travel Brand of the Decade .

Virgin Atlantic currently has a fleet of 39 aircraft which includes comprised of Boeing 747s, Airbus A340-600s, A340-300 and A330-300s as well as four leased A320s on Little Red routes. The airline is expecting delivery of 16 Boeing 787 Dreamliners from September 2014.